Rode the SP for the first time today and LOVED IT!!Just extremely playful and stable. Very easy to walk all around the pads on the thing to jibe or adjust your footing.

I didn't find it to be a better lightwind board than anything else (fins add drag). I rode it in sound with wind driven small waves and chop. The board just ate up the chop and made the small waves a total playground.

I found it tracked almost too well, so I took the rear/center fins off to loosen up the back end and found it much more playful. I can't see me ever putting them back on. It's as stable as it needs to be but throwing the back end around is a lot more fun.

Rode it in pretty much all conditions...and have to say, it handled it all. I was surprised that when I was very lit on my kite, I could still ride the SP in complete control, and didn't have to run to the twin tip. I also have the reform skim and I'll get blown off that board at the top end of my kite, as you'd expect with a skim.

Anyway, first day on it, first report. Looking forward to getting it out in the ocean.

Awesome! Thanks for the review. I went and bought the 2012 green one 5'4" off the website. Should come in today. Is yours the 5'4" or the 5'0"?

When you say not any better in lightwind than anything else, what are you comparing it to? Do you mean compared to a regular twin tip (~135x40) or not any better than other semi-lightwind boards (145x45 tt or surfboards etc)?

Interesting that you didn't need the rear fins. Maybe some of those little knubster fins would be good for the rear.

I've ridden a buddy's quad surfboard with the 2 rear fins out before, and the nose hunted all over the place, I didn't like it. This still tracks OK with two fins?

The Captain's is 5' 0" Mine is 2012 Green 5' 4"Mine will obviously go out a little earlier than his, but he wants to be able to get his in a bag for travel, so he got the 5' 0"I went with the 2012 because it is cheaper, bigger and I like the green color better.And I don't need to travel with mine.

The Captain's is 5' 0" Mine is 2012 Green 5' 4"Mine will obviously go out a little earlier than his, but he wants to be able to get his in a bag for travel, so he got the 5' 0"I went with the 2012 because it is cheaper, bigger and I like the green color better.And I don't need to travel with mine.

Cool. I don't travel and I'm with you on the green color, so I went with the 2012. Looks like the width is the same for the 5'0" and 5'4" versions, so shouldn't ride too much different I'm guessing? I can't wait to try it out!

Yeah the dimensions are exactly the same for nose and tail shape, total width, nose and rear rocker, thickness, bottom contours, fins and fin placement.The 5' 4" just has more middle! Packing my stuff to go to the lake now and see is we've got enough wind for a session.

...When you say not any better in lightwind than anything else, what are you comparing it to? Do you mean compared to a regular twin tip (~135x40) or not any better than other semi-lightwind boards (145x45 tt or surfboards etc)?

Interesting that you didn't need the rear fins. Maybe some of those little knubster fins would be good for the rear.

I've ridden a buddy's quad surfboard with the 2 rear fins out before, and the nose hunted all over the place, I didn't like it. This still tracks OK with two fins?

Well, you can take this as an amateur response, but for me surf boards aren't necessarily light wind miracles. The fins add too much drag, so a true light wind twin tip (big, fat, small fins) or a skim will get me going sooner. BUT, if there is enough wind to get on the board, the surf or skim seems like a miracle because it can point upwind as long as it's moving. ...long answer to your question I guess, I suspect my Reform skim will plane sooner.

The board is super stable with all it's fins. No issues. I just like the back end real quick and even with my foot all the way on the tail, it held a little tighter than I wanted. Maybe that will change when I get it in the ocean. With the rear fins off, it is still super stable and tracks great, you can just turn it tighter. I like to throw spray around like I'm snowboarding in fresh powder.

This board looks like a knock-off of my firewire sweet potato. Even has the same double concave spine on the bottom. Looks also like they missed it on the correct fins for that board. Due to the wide thumbnail tail, the larger keel type fins seem to work best for that shape(ex. Futures quad "Controller" fins). @Captain: Believe it our not, it's the fins that make surfboards efficient in light wind. You need to ride your surfboard different that your TT. More weight forward, less edge/more flattened, and kite lower. Fins make all the difference when riding in light wind(ie, race boards).

The reason I took notice of this board in the first place and started making noise about it in the Nugget thread, was because it looks very similar to the Sweet Potato and therefore a lot like the Nugget.I checked all the specs and descriptions against the Sweet Potato and Nugget before I let myself get fired up about it....and before I brought it up in the Nugget thread...did not want to get spanked for finding a dud. Many of us don't have access to the vast numbers of good used surfboards you do in San Diego.So we pay up the ass.s or go hunt down something like this.I always check the Slingshot closeout surfboards because they are priced great when they start to blow them out.I bought my 2011 SS Coupe for $399 delivered, when they were blowing them out.This 2012 SP 5' 4" Green I bought is one third the price of the Nugget MSRP. I think this one is a winner, but the fins are cheapies. But the DFS compatible fin boxes will allow for a lot of available fins out there to be had.I also bought the 5' 4" thinking the extra 4" could only be a plus for light wind and still be super short and fun to mess around in swelly chop.

@ Old n Broken,I'm with ya. It took me months to find that board on Craigs. Funny, their product description sounds spot on with Firewire's. Why should Slingshot re-invent something that's already out there and proven. It's not like Firewire is going to take notice anyway since Slingshots marketing it under wakeboarding. A little cheesy however that Tony L is taking credit for hand shaping this design when it looks more like he copied it from Dan the Mann. No skin off my back though. And, when they go on sale, I'll probably consider buying one as well as long as they are not too heavy.

Do you know the approx. weight of it and will Futures or FSC fit on it? Thanks O n B.

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